At Realms Deep 2020 this weekend, 3D Realms announced Graven, a spiritual successor to Hexen II that’s coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2021.
Graven is a dark fantasy first-person shooter that casts you as a disgraced Priest of the Orthogonal Order. Exiled to the burning sands, the priest’s only chance at redemption is to hunt down the heretical sects that are twisting the natural order of the world.
According to 3D Realms, Graven draws on classic shooters, immersive sims, and RPGs alike to deliver a mix of action, exploration, and puzzle-solving. Players will have access to more than 30 weapons and spells designed to encourage experimentation, with magic also being crucial to solving environmental puzzles. As you gain new abilities, you’ll be able to uncover new secrets in previously-visited areas.
As well as a single-player mode, Graven will have online play for up to four people, and a two-player split-screen co-op mode.
Here’s the official feature list, from the game’s Steam listing:
• Solve puzzles and scour lore to uncover the motives of the foul heretical sects behind the plagues and seasons undermining the land.
• Alter your environment with all that surrounds you, wielding spells and crystals to adjust as you see fit in your pursuit.
• Discover new weapons and upgrade them at blacksmiths and alchemists to customize your capability.
• Expand your horizons by returning to old stomping grounds with new abilities and seeing how far down the chasms go.
• Slay over thirty distinct enemies in an ever broadening world across numerous biomes.
• Walk the parallel path, lest you stumble into the recesses of the world, where the fog knows no light, and creatures beyond time roam free.
Earn your peace.
“Graven began as a game we had often dreamed of,” said Frederik Schreiber, vice president of 3D Realms and Game Director on Graven. ” ‘What would a spiritual successor to a Dark Fantasy series such as Hexen, have looked like if it was made in 1998 in the original Unreal engine?’ We think the answer is Graven. We hope you do too.”
Graven is being developed by Slipgate Ironworks (Rise of the Triad, Bombshell) and co-published by 3D Realms and 1C Entertainment. It’s due out in 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.